Wire mill equipment



June 20, 1939. YUNG ET L 2,163,389

WIRE MILL EQUIPMENT I Filed Dec. 24, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F |G.l.

|o lo 22 I a I I 3 I5 I7 I9 24 I5 l8 INVENTORS LAFE YOU NG ALFREDA.BOYLE BY June 20, 1939. YOUNG EI'AL 2,163,389

WIRE MILL EQUIPMENT Filed Dec. 24, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ALFRED A. BOYLEIAIIIHILL Y 1 1 g ATTORNEY Patented June 20, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE WIRE MILL EQUIPMENT Application December 24, 1937, Serial No.181,667

Claims.

Our invention relates to wire mill equipment and more particularly toapparatus for facilitating both the forming of. the wire into bundles ofany desired content and the supplying of wire in relatively largequantities to machinesutilizing it. Heretofore it has been the practicein wire mill work to wind the wire as it comes from the drawing diesupon a support known as a stripper-reel. Such reels when filled withwire are diflicult to handle by the workmen if they are made to containa large quantity of wire. It has, therefore, been customary to use reelsof relatively small height which will accommodate only such a quantityof wire as can readily be manually manipulated.

It is the principal object ofsour invention to provide a stripper-reelof relatively great height which will accommodate a relatively largequantity of wire. To accomplish this we provide, for cooperation withsaid reel, handling mechanism both for the reel itself and for thebundles of wire divided from the contents of the reel. In this way werender feasible the manipulation of large reels to form bundles of wireof any desired size. It will be evident that. such large reels willprove superior to the usual size in supplying wire to machines of anykind utilizing such wire for any purpose.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate one form of wire millequipment made in accordance with our invention Figure 1 is a verticalcentral section of a stripper-reel and a portion of a support on whichit is carried; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the reel; Figure 3 isanen.- larged section taken on the line 3-,-3 of Figure 1; Figure 4 is aside'view of the reel and bundle handling mechanism, a portion of theskid being broken away; Figure 5 is a top plan view of the parts shownin Figure 4, the reel carrier being shown in a different position;Figure 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 4; Figure 7 is asection taken on the line 1-1 of Figure l, the turntable being shown ina different position; and Figure 8 is an end view of the parts shown inFigure 4.

Referring first to Figures 1, 2 and 3, the stripper-reel legs 10, whichare preferably four in number, are long in proportion to the diameter ofthe reel and are slightly tapering to facilitate the discharge of Wirein the bundling operation. The upper end of each leg is provided with aninwardly and downwardly turned portion II which is welded or otherwisesecured to the upper end of a sleeve I2. The lower end of this sleeve isbelled as shown at l3 and is connected to the legs bybraces [4. Thelower ends of the legs are preferably flattened and are turned outwardlyto form feet l5. These feet l5 serve not only to support the reel butalso as stops to prevent the coil of wire wound on the reel fromslipping 51:

off the reel when it is being transferred from one position to another.Extending between two opposite legs near their upper ends is a hook barIt for engagement with the hook of a crane or the like to raise andlower the reel.

In Figure 1 we have shown the reel carried by a support comprising a panI1 and spider l8 having an anti-friction bearing l9 interposed betweenthem. Carried by the spider i8 is a spindle the upper end of which isadapted to enter the sleeve l2 and form therewith a guide and bearingfor the reel. In the upper end of the spindle is a bushing 2| (Figure 3)between which and a pilot or centering pin 22 is an antifriction bearing23. The conical form of this 20 pin together with the belled form of thesleeve 12 facilitates the positioning of the reel upon the support; Thespindle is preferably provided with a dust guard 24 to protect thebearing I9.

Referring now to Figures 4 to 8, a pair of uprights 25 are carried on abase 23. Pivotally mounted .between these uprights on a shaft 21 is aframe 28 carrying a pointed pin 29 adapted to enter the sleeve l2 of thereel in a manner similar to the spindle 20. The pin 29 terminates in a30 collar 42 adapted to contact with the lower end of the sleeve I2 tosupport the reel in position on the frame 28. The frame 28 may assumeeither a vertical position as shown in Figures 4 and 6 or a horizontalposition as shown in Fig- 5 ures 5 and 8. It is held in the formerposition by a stop 30 secured to the front faces of the uprights 25 andin the latter by a stop 3| carried on the upper ends of said uprights.The base 26 is attached to a frame work 32 supporting rails 33 formingthe horizontal portion of a skid. The forward ends of these rails areextended downwardly to form the inclined portion 34 of the skidterminating in a bundle rack 35 slightly inclined from the perpendicularso that a bundle of wire 36' may be supported against it in convenientposition to be engaged by the hook of a crane passing between the tworails forming the rack. These rails are spaced by an H-shaped grace 31(Figure 8).

Situated in the center of the frame work 32 is a post 38 having a. pivot39 on which is mounted a block 40 carrying a pair of short rails 33adapted to be brought into alignment with the rails 33 to form thehorizontal portion of the skid. The block and rails 33' together form aturntable upon which a bundle 36' of wire may be deposited from the reelin the position shown in dotted lines in Figures 4 and 5. The turntablepermits the bundle to be rotated in a horizontal plane, that is, aroundits axis, permitting access to all sides of it so that a workman may notonly properly form the bundle but readily apply tie wires 4| to it tohold it in shape.

The operation of our wire mill equipment is as follows. wire drawingblock of any usual construction;

being set in place before starting to windithe wire:

on the block. As the wire is drawn, it is forced up from the block ontothe reel and this operation is continued until the entire heightoffthereel is filled with a continuous coil 36 of wire.

The reel is now raised fromzthe block b'y the engagement with the bariii of the hook of. a crane or other hoisting device; the reel istransferred to position over the uprights .25, the frame 28 beinginvertical position; and the reel is then lowered to cause its sleeve l2to surround pin 29, the lower end of the sleeve resting on collar-42 tosupport the reel on frame 28. The frame is.now swung from vertical. tohorizontal position to locate the end of'the reel over the turntable.Sections of wire of any desired size may now be formed from thecontinuous coil 36 on the reel by cutting thewire at the desiredpoints.Each section of wire as it is severed from the coil is slid off the reeland deposited upon the turntable where it may be manipulated to bringitinto proper form, that is, that of an annulus of circular crosssection and secured into a bundle by tie wires 4|. The rails 33' firstbeing brought into alignment with the rails 33 to form acontinuous skidtrack, the bundle is now slid down the inclined portion 34 of the skid.and turnedfrom its inclined position to a substantially perpendicularposition against the rack 35 where it may readily be engaged by the hookof acrane and transferred to any desired place. In case it is notdesired toform the wire of the continuous. coil on the reel intobundles-but toutilize it in a wire working machine it is transferredfrom the drawing block to the support shown in Figure 1 or some othersupport permitting rotation of the reel. From such support the entirelength of wire on the reel may befed to the machine withoutinterruption.

Having fully described our inventiomwhatwe claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a device of the class described, a de tachable stripper-reel, areel supporting member movable from vertical to horizontal position, anda skid, said skid comprising a horizontal portion The stripper-reel ismounted on a.

for supporting a coil of wire in horizontal position, an inclinedportion, and a bundle rack against which a coil may be upended from theinclined portion, the horizontal portion of said skid being sopositioned with relation to the reel supporting member as to receivesevered sections of wire from a reel carried on the member when thelatter is in horizontal position.

2. In a device of the class described, a detachable stripper-reel, areel supporting member mov-- against which a coil may be upended" fromthe. inclinedportion, the horizontal portion of the.

skid including a turntable, said turntable being so positionedwithrelation to the reel supporting member as to receive severed sections ofWire from a reel carried on themember when the latter is in horizontalposition.

4. In a device of the class described, a pair of uprights, a framepivoted between said uprights toswing from verticalto horizontalposition, a centering pin carried by said frame, a stripperreel providedwith a central sleeve for engagement with said pin, and askid comprisinga pair of rails terminating in an approximately vertical bundle rack,said skid being so located with respect to the frame as to receivesevered sections of wire from the reel carried on the frame when thelatter is in horizontal position.

5. In a device of the class described, a pair of uprights, a framepivoted between said uprights to swing from vertical to horizontalpositon, a centeringpin carried by said frame, a stripperreel providedwith acentral sleeve for engagement'with said pin, a skid comprising apair of racks terminating in an approximately vertical bundle rack, anda turntable including a pair of rails adapted to be brought intoalignment with and form in effect a part of said skid rails, saidturntable being so located with respect to the frame as to receivesevered sections of wire from the reel carried on the frame when thelatter is in horizontal position. LAFE YOUNG. ALFRED A. BOYLE.

